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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28696749">Bookworms</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/carnivoreghost/pseuds/carnivoreghost'>carnivoreghost</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Commissions/Gifts [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Books, Budding Love, F/M, Post-Time Skip, Pre-Time Skip, Trans Character, Trans Male Character, Writing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 08:20:41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,143</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28696749</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/carnivoreghost/pseuds/carnivoreghost</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Written in careful calligraphy was an excerpt from the tale of a woman warrior. There was little Ashe could glean from the page. But what he could piqued his curiosity. The interest of a bookworm was only sated by reading. Though the page did not have a book name on it, he knew the handwriting. </i>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>A page of Bernie's manuscript falls into the hands of Garreg Mach's resident bookworm.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert/Bernadetta von Varley</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Commissions/Gifts [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1676803</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Bookworms</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serie11/gifts">Serie11</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is a gift for Serie11 for FETransHub's 2020 Secret Santa.</p><p>The prompt was Ashe with reading new books. It was also mention that Serie11 was interested in a Bernie/Ashe support path. So I took a crack at that. Each scene can be ready as ascending supports. :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There was a beauty to Garreg Mach under the cover of stars. The usual bustle of students was gone. All that was left was sleeping cats and the light of the moon. Curfew kept everyone in their rooms, the threat of an angry professor large enough to deter most mischief.</p><p>
  <i>Most</i>
</p><p>Ashe couldn’t help it. The coursework had been difficult. Despite their stoic face, the young professor was quite the tyrant. There were only so many times Ashe could fire a bow before his arms were jelly. The weekend had come and he still ached. </p><p>That is why he had thought a bit of reading would be the perfect treat for getting through the ordeal. It may have been too relaxing though because he has woken just past midnight with his face stuck to an open book. </p><p>His footsteps were quiet, bare feet practiced. No ghosts or men would hear him.  In his arms he clutched a couple of books and his boots. A lesson he had learned long ago was shoes are the enemy of stealth. </p><p>Perhaps his focus on keeping his steps quiet was the reason hbe did not see the figure until it was right in front of him.</p><p>Maybe it was his still half asleep mind still behind him in the library. </p><p>The figure, cloaked in shadows of the tree above them, froze. </p><p>Ashe did the same. He held his breath, fingers digging white knuckled into his books. </p><p>The shadow squeaked, stumbling back. </p><p>
  <i>Wait-</i>
</p><p>“Be-Bernadetta,” Ashe said, squinting in the darkness. Sure enough, the more his eyes adjusted the clearer she became. This was the first time he had seen her outside of class or the battlefield. She was dressed in her uniform, though it was a bit wrinkled in places. Her violet hair was ruffled and sticking out on top as if she’d been rolling around. </p><p>“Ashe!” Her voice rose an octave “Wh-what are you doing here?” She clutched a stack of parchment, haphazardly strung together with twine.</p><p>Ashe frowned. “I could ask you-” He halted as a flash of panic came across Bernadetta’s face. “I fell asleep in the library. I was just heading back to my dorm. Are you-” He took a step towards her. “Is everything alright? It's quite late.”</p><p>“I-”She chewed her bottom lip. “I missed dinner and I-”</p><p>Ashe blinked. It had been a few months since the school year started and he was certain the only times he’d seen Bernadetta eat was when the professor forced her out of her room. </p><p>“You were sneaking into the kitchens,”he said, not bothering to keep the awe out of his voice. </p><p>Bernadetta sputtered. “D-don’t say it like that! I-” She turned on her heel. “I’m not hu-hungry anymore. Don't tell anyone you saw me!”</p><p>“Bern-” She was already gone before Ashe could finish saying her name. There was no sound, beyond the fluttering of a piece of parchment as it drifted to the ground. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Daytime came too quick for Ashe’s liking. Sleep had not come easily. He had been too eager to finish the book he had started. It was well into morning before he finally closed it and ventured from his room. </p><p>Though he longed to take a nap,he had a mission. </p><p>The parchment has sat on his desk all night, pressed flat and handled carefully. He had read it at least a dozen times. </p><p>
  <i>”Lilliana held that resolve in her heart as she faced the knight. Her hands were steady on her bow. She feared nothing. No man-”</i>
</p><p>Written in careful calligraphy was an excerpt from the tale of a woman warrior. There was little Ashe could glean from the page. But what he could piqued his curiosity. The interest of a bookworm was only saited by reading. Though the page did not have a book name on it, he knew the handwriting. </p><p>Early that Sunday morning Ashe ended up in front of Bernadetta’s room.</p><p>“Bernadetta?” He knocked thrice. There was a yelp and some shuffling from the other side. </p><p>“Yeah,” she asked, muffled through the door. “What do you wa-want?”</p><p>“It’s Ashe,”he said. “You dropped a paper last night and i-”</p><p>“What?!” There was a thump as Bernadetta’s voice rose. “I did?! Oh no. Stupid, forgettful Bernie! I-”</p><p>“I’ve come to return it.” Ashe winced. Hearing someone speak about themselves like that made his stomach drop into his shoes. “I can leave it here if you like.”</p><p>Bernadetta went silent. “You didn’t read it,did you?”</p><p>Ashe froze, staring at the door. It offered him no solace. “I-” He had read it. It had been hard not to, even with the guilt settling heavy in his gut as he did. “What happens next?”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Does Lilliana kill Alcott the Fiend,” he asked.</p><p>“She-” Bernadetta’s voice was hushed, barely audible through the door. “She does.”</p><p>Ashe was silent. “Perhaps she should struggle.”</p><p>“What? Why?”</p><p>Ashe smiled, though she could not see him. “Isn’t it satisfying when a hero overcomes after struggling against a mighty foe?”</p><p>“I su-suppose,” she said. </p><p>He slipped the parchment under the door. “Other than that,” he said. “There is a typo in the second line.”</p><p>“Ack!,” Bernadetta cried, “No! How embarrassing! I-”</p><p>Smile widening, Ashe left her.  If he was allowed, he looked forward to reading about Lilliana the Valiant’s adventures. </p><p> </p><p>Five years was a long time. Ashe had missed so many things during that time, Dedue’s cooking, flavorful and spicy in a way that warmed,the monastery cats, and his friends. </p><p>With the new title of general and a few inches, he still felt so small. The Church deserved to fall. But Ashe Ubert was a traitor to his country and that fact still sent a tremor down his hands when he thought of it.</p><p>In some ways, things did not change. After all this time, Ashe found himself back at Garreg Mach, under the stern gaze of the beloved professor. Like back in his school days he found himself seeking solace in the library after a particularly bad week. </p><p>There was nothing new on the shelves. After all, they were at war. There were more important things to buy than novels. Well loved books were like visiting old friends. Ashe tooks a seat at one of the wooden tables, hunched over a faded adventure novel that was loosely based in a long won civil war.</p><p> It was a romanticized epic about the leader of one of the factions and his struggle with identity. The book had always been a comfort. Though his name had always been Ashe, he had once looked quite different. The leader in the book had been an inspiration to him. Lonato’s approval had been the first real step. When he had called Ashe his adopted son, the courage in his heart had spurned him to never again doubt. </p><p>He was a man. He would be a knight. </p><p>The last person he expected to walk in and stop across the table from him was Bernadetta. </p><p>Her hair was neat, trimmed bluntly but brushed with deft hands. Her clothing suited her much better than the monastery uniform. Of course that could have been because of the height she had gained over five years or the way she held herself. She was still unsure,chewing on her bottom lip but her posture was straighter. It was as if something heavy had been lifted from her back.</p><p>“Uh- Hey Ashe!” Her arms were folded behind her back as she rocked back on her heels.</p><p>“Bernadetta!” Despite the exhaustion creeping at the edges of his vision, Ashe smiled. There had not been much time to catch up since the professor came back. “How have you been?”</p><p>She didn’t move to sit down. “Fine. Just fine,”she said. “I’ve been thinking-” She paused, taking in a deep breath. From behind her back Bernadetta pulled out a leather bound journal. “I want you to read this.” You placed it on the table in front of him.</p><p>“What is it,” he said, picking it up. It was quite thick, a good two inches of parchment sandwiched between umber leather. There was no title. He flipped open the first page.</p><p>“D-Don’t!” Her voice was loud in the quiet library. </p><p>Ashe stopped, staring at Bernadetta</p><p>Cheeks reddening, she averted her gaze. “Don’t read it now. Its- Its my story.” She swallowed. “About Lilliana the Valiant.”</p><p>Ashe shut the book gently. Things of such value must be treated gently. He did not dare break the spine. “You finished it,” he breathed. “Bernie, you’re amazing. I’m looking forward to reading it.”</p><p>“You can read it,” Bernadetta met his gaze, uncharacteristic intensity in her eyes. Her cheeks were still crimson in the oil lamp light.  “But only if you promise to not tell a <i>soul</i>.”</p><p>Ashe nodded. “I promise.”</p><p>She stepped back. Whatever boldness had cast its spell on her was gone. Clasping her hands in front of her Bernadetta turned away from him. “I-uhh gotta go now bye!” She dashed off, leaving him alone in the library once again. </p><p>Something tightened in Ashe’s chest, like a stone wall constricted by vines. It had been growing a while.. This warmth had been smothered during the past five years but now- </p><p>Ashe pressed his forehead to the journal, breathing in the scent of ink,paper and leather.</p><p> </p><p>Given enough time, everything repeats, from history to people. Ashe stood outside of Bernadetta’s dorm door. </p><p>“Bernadetta,” he said her name slowly and hushed,as if anything more would frighten the affection from his heart. That is what he had decided to call the sugary sweet feeling. <i>Affection.</i> Anything more seemed like it would jinx it.</p><p>Most unexpectedly of all, the door opened when he knocked.  </p><p>Bernadetta peeked around the cracked door. Her eyes were wide. “Ashe. You-You’re here.”</p><p>“I apologize.” The hope in his breast suddenly plummeted. “I finished the book and I was wondering if you were free to talk about it.”</p><p>“I-”she began, glancing past him. When she decided the coast was clear, the door opened the rest of the way. Bernadetta looked much the same she had the days she had given him the journal. Her hair was sleek and her outfit a pretty purple color.  She did not move to let him come inside. </p><p>Ashe straightened up. “You did really well in this. There are a few grammar errors but beyond that it is really good.”</p><p>For the first time in front of him, Bernadetta smiled. Though the expression was watery as she spoke. “Re-really?” She looked at her feet, hand coming up to cover her expression. “I’ve worked hard on it.”</p><p>“I can tell.” Her smile made the vines around his heart squeeze. “But I-” He took a deep breath. “I really enjoyed reading about Sir Merek.” Sir Merek was an interesting edition, as was his romance with Lilliana.</p><p>Bernadetta’s smile faltered. “You-you did?” </p><p>“The scene where Lillana and him are on the horse was pulse pounding,” he said, “Firing arrows on horseback is difficult with only one person riding.” There were things about the character that had struck him as he read, from his silver hair to his archery skill. Though he did not want to assume anything. “The scene after was nice too.”</p><p>Of course the heroes had to kiss after that. It only made narrative sense.</p><p>Eyes wide and stricken, Bernadetta’s cheeks flushed. “Well I-,” she started, “I-I like men like Sir Merek.”</p><p>Ashe let himself smile. His heart was thumping hard in his chest. It was like the moment before jumping into a lake. Exhilarating. Terrifying. </p><p>“But I wish I was more like Lilliana.”</p><p>The confession sat like a stone in Ashe’s stomach. “Why? You’re-” <i>Creative. Kind. Strong. Pretty. &lt;</i></p><p>She shook her head, eyes closed tight. “Not bold. Not beautiful. Not like her,” Bernadetta said, finally. </p><p>“I-”He took a step closer. They were only inches apart. But he did not dare anything further,lest he frighten her away. “Well <i>I</i> like Bernadetta the best.”</p><p>Her eyes snapped open. “What?! Me?!”</p><p>Ashe nodded. “But,” he rose his voice, cutting across the panicked babble that was no doubt building to burst from her. “If you wish to change yourself, do it.” He could not help the fondness bubbling inside as he watched her jump. </p><p>“You-you think I can?”</p><p>“I know you can achieve whatever dream you wish,”he said, voice steady. </p><p>She gazed up at him for a moment before smiling. “Thats-thats.” The words faded out asd she fell silent. </p><p>“We can talk more about your book,” Ashe said, coughing into his fist. “If you’d like to come to my room. It could be a nice change of pace?”</p><p>She hid her face behind her hands, peeking at him through her fingers. “Ye-Yes. Okay.”</p><p>Ashe smiled. Whether Bernie realized it or not, she could be bold.</p>
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